July 7, 2011

ESPN says Sergio Santos’ slider is MLB’s top out pitch

ESPN’s Stats & Information Group broke down its pitch performance data and looked at strikeouts by pitch type, compared to the number of two-strike pitches thrown with that particular pitch. A good “putaway rate” with a pitch is upwards of 30 percent. The major league average for all pitches is just below 20 percent. In Santos’ case, he’s thrown the slider 101 times with two strikes this season and netted 47 strikeouts, most recently whiffing Royals rookie Mike Moustakas in the ninth inning on Monday. Santos’ “putaway rate” with the slider is 47 percent (47 divided by 101). …